Being Lucky
by SolariaLunar21
Summary: In a world where being a werewolves mate is a coveted position Stiles doesn't find it to be that way, he actually sort of dreads it.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Teen Wolf or any of the familiar characters depicted in this story.

**A/N: **Let me know what you think!

* * *

When Stiles was small his Mom would read him a story about a werewolf and his mate. She twirled the words of the story around in the air making Stiles believe, just like all young children, that being a werewolf's mate was like a fairytale come true. As he grew older the fairytale quality drifted away, for he didn't care like most kids if he was a werewolf's mate. His parents were both human and Stiles had never seen two people more in love than his Mom and Dad, he'd met people that were mates of werewolves and it didn't seem so special. Sure, everyone knew that if you were a werewolf's mate that you would be the most important person to them. That the wolf would never stray, that the wolf wouldn't even _be able _to stray, that you would feel loved and cherished every single day until you died. For Stiles, though, he saw that in his Mom and Dad and so he didn't care. While girls and boys talked about their sixteenth birthdays with reverence Stiles just saw it as another day. He didn't care that it was the day they reached maturation in a werewolf's eyes, or that their scent changed ever so slightly to allow the wolf to smell the scent of mate on them.

To be truthful, while everyone around him his sophomore year waited with baited breath to find out if they were a mate, he dreaded his sixteenth birthday. He didn't want to be a werewolf's mate, he knew it wasn't something that he had power over but he didn't want it. Because there were parts of the fairytale that people forgot: that they end. That one day the princess or prince might come home and find that the one they love is slowly dying and no matter what anyone does it cannot be helped. His mom died from cancer, leaving his father broken hearted in a way that Stiles knew was unfixable, and that was just pure human love. He knew that if he was a werewolf's mate and he were to die it would be even worse; the wolf wouldn't be able to survive. Stiles didn't want to feel responsible for someone's death, even if it was his own that caused it because of a broken heart. Even this part he knew people twisted into sick romanticism, saying that a werewolf's devotion was so pure that they couldn't even live in a world where their mate no longer lived.

There weren't many werewolves in Beacon Hills compared to other places in the country that Stiles knew of. There was the Hale family but most of them already had mates, or were too young, and then there were a few others like his best friend Scott and another girl in their grade Erica. Scott was turned just six months earlier after an asthma attack nearly killed him and Erica was turned in grade school when they found out she was epileptic. All werewolf bites had to be run through a committee. The only exceptions were those given to mates, or to human-born family members who chose to be bitten after they turned sixteen. It wasn't something that was granted on a whim because someone wanted to be faster and stronger; but only if that human could lead a truly healthier life if turned. Scott and Erica were the only two in Stiles' lifetime that he could remember being granted the bite in Beacon Hills.

So during sophomore year Stiles waited. His birthday was in early November and he surely hoped that Scott and Erica's mates showed up before then. He couldn't handle being Scott's mate, just for the fact that while he found Scott attractive it was in the sense of 'I can appreciate it but I don't want to climb him like a tree'. It would never be more than that. It helped ease his worries when in the second week of September Stiles heard that Vernon Boyd was Erica's mate. He only had Scott to worry about but he really didn't think that he'd be Scott's mate. So that's why it didn't surprise him when in the middle of October he got a text from Scott about Isaac Lahey's smile and how amazing he smelled. After the revelation that Isaac was Scott's mate most of the sophomores weren't as frantic and dewy eyed about their sixteenth birthdays.

The only other werewolf that was older than sixteen and wasn't mated was Derek Hale, and the idea that Stiles of all people would be Derek Hale's mate was preposterous. He knew that the people still anxiously awaiting their sixteenth birthdays were only doing so in hopes that they would be Derek's mate. It was odd for Derek to be twenty-one years old and still mate-less, most werewolves found their mates by the end of high school and those that didn't were said to find them within the first two months of college. Derek, though, would come home every break from UCLA still mate-less and every break girls and boys alike that were newly sixteen would stalk Derek around town in hopes that they would be the lucky one.

It wasn't like Stiles would hate it if he were to be Derek's mate; he just didn't want to be anybody's mate. It wasn't anything personal. In all honesty there were people a lot worse than Derek Hale; he was basically sex on legs with abs of steel and an ass that Stiles just wanted to grab. That wasn't even taking into account that on the rare occasion that Derek was spotted smiling it was like the freaking sun started beaming out of his face. Okay, so Stiles had a small crush on Derek, you would be hard pressed to find someone in Beacon Hills that didn't, but he still didn't want to be Derek's mate.

"Stiles buddy, let's go. Rise and shine Stiles groaned as his father shook his shoulder to wake him up, he hated waking up on any day but today he just wanted to stay in bed and not greet the outside world even more.

"No, go away. I've decided to become a hermit that never leaves the house and lives in a room that is smell proof to those outside of it. Kind of like a soundproof room only with smells."

"Stiles that's no way to treat your birthday."

"It is when you don't want to find out if you're a werewolf's mate," he mumbled from under the covers and he groaned when he felt the bed dip beside him.

"Look, I know that that isn't something that you want, but buddy if you are? That's not something that you can change and you refusing to be with that wolf will end the same if you were to die on them one day."

"I know Dad; I've known my whole life the way that wolves and their mates work. If I refuse the bond the wolf will die and I will become a social pariah and never have love because the rest of the human race wouldn't understand. But if I die well so does the wolf because they apparently can't live without the awesomeness that is me. I don't want to be responsible for someone dying, Dad," he peeked out of his cocoon of blankets as he talked and took in the way his dad looked; this wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation.

"I know you don't," his dad replied, "but that doesn't mean you can wallow in your room all day I know for a fact that you have a test in English today, so you are getting up and going to school."

With that his dad left the room and Stiles rolled himself out of bed then walked down the hall to take a shower. He had happy birthday texts from Scott as well as Erica, Boyd, and Isaac when he got back which made him smile. While Scott had been a bit wrapped up in Isaac over the past month, the other boy had made a conscious effort to get to know Stiles and even kept Scott in line and reminded him of his best friend. Isaac had even admitted to Stiles that when he realized Scott had been neglecting his best friend he'd yelled at him about how lucky he was to even have Stiles, since Isaac didn't have anyone before Scott came along. When he got downstairs his dad was reading the paper and Stiles had to smile because he loved that this was one of the only days of the year that his dad took off work. Being the town Sherriff meant he was still on call but otherwise Stiles was glad that he always got to spend it with his dad.

"So are you ready to go?" Stiles asked after grabbing a bagel to eat on the way.

"Yup, can you just grab my toolbox from the garage while I grab my coat? I want to take a look at fixing the gutter today," his dad asked and Stiles nodded back before he made it out to the garage. He turned on the light and stopped in his tracks. Sitting in front of him was a beat up blue jeep with a big red bow on it; he turned around when he heard footsteps behind him to find his dad.

"Is that…mine?"

"Sure is kid, happy birthday," his dad replied with a smile. Stiles leaped forward and hugged him.

"Thank you! This is like, man, the best birthday present ever, Dad. Seriously."

"Even better than being able to drive it to school today?"

"By myself?"

"Okay well, no, I'll be there. But I'll pick you up early from school and you can go take your driver's test and tomorrow you can go in by yourself." Stiles didn't even care that his dad was riding with him; he drove into school with a smile on his face and the possibility of being someone's mate completely forgotten.

"Dude, did your dad get you a car?" Scott asked once Stiles had climbed out of the jeep and given the keys to his dad.

"Yeah, said he's going to pick me up early from school so I can go take my test, I can totally give you and Isaac a ride tomorrow so you don't have to ride your bikes," Stiles informed him.

"Really sweet! You know I'm really happy you two get along so well, I'd hate it if you didn't like my mate."

"Isaac's a good guy and he keeps you in line. What's not to like?" Stiles replied but his mind was back on the fact that now basically his scent was open season for werewolves. He was glad when Isaac arrived a few moments later and distracted Scott from asking about his change in mood.

Stiles went through the rest of his day on a bit of auto pilot; only really perking up when Erica, Boyd, Scott, and Isaac gave him cupcakes they'd all made and when his dad picked him up to take his driver's test. Thankfully he passed with flying colors, and Stiles even let his dad have curly fries during their celebration dinner. The next day started a new routine where he picked up both Scott and Isaac before school. Soon, he forgot all about the whole werewolf mate thing.

That was until almost two weeks later, over the weekend before Thanksgiving, and people were talking about how Derek would be back in town for the holiday. It seemed that was the only thing people in school wanted to talk about. Jackson was going around the whole school telling everyone that Derek wouldn't be looking at any of them, because they'd all see once he turned sixteen in June, that he'd be Derek's mate. Of course everyone also knew that Jackson really only wanted to turn out to be Derek's mate so that he could get the bite and be back on level with Scott on the lacrosse field.

Stiles dreaded Thanksgiving. Not just because of Derek, but because his Mom's birthday was the same week. Instead of the joyous feast it was supposed to be Thanksgiving was more of a somber holiday in his house. He visited his mother's grave at least once a week, usually on Saturdays, to tell her about what was going on in his life. So the Saturday before Thanksgiving as per usual found him in the graveyard talking to his mother's headstone.

"I guess Derek's going to be back in town soon, so everyone this week at school has been talking about that. A few of the kids have given me odd looks when I don't join in on all the talk of how amazing it would be to be Derek's mate, but I can't exactly tell them that I dread the idea. And it's not because of Derek, you know that of course, it's just the whole concept of the fact that if I die he dies. I mean, I couldn't do that to any kids we have, it's hard enough losing one parent I don't want ours to lose both in one swoop if I were to be his mate, or any werewolf's mate. But you know that already, I've been saying this for so long," he paused then because talking about being Derek's mate also reminded him even more that his Mom wasn't here to see any of the important things happen.

"And I guess I'm a bit more of a mess than usual, because I could be meeting the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with any day now, and you aren't here to see it or meet them. I know you knew Derek, you had him in fourth grade, but it's different having him as a student than as a future son-in-law. And if I'm some other werewolf's mate that I haven't met yet then you've never even known them…I just I really miss you Mom," he stopped talking then as tears started to fall down his face. This was one of the hardest parts, he thought, of not having his mom around; he remembered so many times she had pulled him into her arms and rubbed his back when he cried and whispered soothingly in his ear. His dad tried his best but Stiles hadn't felt safe the way she made him feel since she'd been gone.

After a few more minutes he composed himself and started telling her about his math test and how lacrosse conditioning had started up. He told her about Scott snorting milk out of his nose at lunch on Thursday and how Isaac had come over the night before and they geeked out over Doctor Who together. Stiles also talked about his dad, letting her know that he was still making sure that dad was eating healthy and that he had all the deputies at the station doing the same. He ran out of things to talk about after that and just sat staring at her headstone, tracing the letters in her name as tears started rolling down his cheeks again. The sound of footsteps ripped him out of his trance and he looked up instinctively to find a pair of warm hazel eyes staring back at him from just a couple of feet away.

The eyes belonged to none other than Derek Hale and Stiles couldn't take his own away from the warm gaze. He felt pinned where he was sitting and his heart started beating faster in his chest as a warm feeling traveled all over his body. The passage of time ceased to exist to Stiles, he couldn't tell you how long they just sat there looking at each other. Derek was the first to move and it was to bring a hand up to Stiles' cheek and rub his thumb along the mostly dried tear tracks found there.

"You've been crying," the older man finally said.

"That's what generally happens in cemeteries," Stiles replied and Derek huffed out a small laugh that surprised him. "So, um, what are you doing here?" he winced after he asked because that was a stupid question.

"Came to visit Trevor, I always come first thing when I get back," Derek answered and Stiles nodded because of course that's why Derek was here. Trevor was Derek's twin brother who died after his mate, Kate Argent, refused their bond when they met. Stiles was about to say something about how he was sorry if he bothered him with his talking when Derek continued, "I was on my way over to his grave when I smelled you."

"What?" Stiles asked because there was no way that Derek meant what Stiles thought that he was trying to say. He knew logically that he could be Derek's mate. It wasn't an impossibility; he'd sort of been walking through life with the assumption he would be somebody's mate. It was one of the reasons he always dreaded it so much. Stiles was aware that a lot of humans who turned out to be mates said they felt something was missing growing up and Stiles often felt that way, even when his mother was still alive. He didn't know why he'd subconsciously always thought he'd be a werewolf's mate, but he figured it had something to do with his fears.

"You're my mate, Stiles." And okay, so Derek did mean what Stiles thought he meant.

"I am?"

"Yes. I hope you don't think this is weird but I sort of always hoped it would be you, since the first time I met you," he said and Stiles didn't really understand why that was. There were so many other people that were better suited for Derek than he was so he didn't know why Derek would ever hope Stiles was his mate.

"Me? But why? I'm flattered but there are tons of people I would choose over me. I mean, I know this isn't a choice on your part, but if you could choose, well I don't know why you would choose me. I'm incapable of sitting still and I talk way too much and I'm not some star lacrosse player. And, well, I'm not exactly drop dead gorgeous or anything. I mean, the only person I could think that would be even lower on anybody's list than me would be Allison just because of the whole Kate thing, which obviously you know about, and wow I'm just I'm going to shut up now," he rambled as Derek frowned a little and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Because you've never treated me or any other werewolf like we were something to be feared or some prize that you could one day win in some sort of lottery. Because I like that you talk too much, and I think you're beautiful. I have since the first time your mom brought you to the school and had you be her little helper because your babysitter was sick and your dad had a work emergency," Derek told him.

"But I was four, how can a four year old be beautiful? That sounds a little Stranger Danger to me," Stiles said and instead of growing offended, like he expected, Derek laughed. The sound of it made Stiles' life mission to never go another day without hearing it.

"Maybe, but you've always just pulled me in. I stayed inside during recess that day and played with you and I'm pretty sure I told your mom the next day when I got to school that I wanted you to be my mate."

"To be honest I didn't really think you ever noticed me," Stiles ducked his head down as a blush took over his face, because it felt ridiculous to admit that. He felt Derek's fingers under his chin so he looked back into Derek's eyes and realized they'd moved closer. His heart started pounding and he knew what was going to happen, so he placed a hand on Derek's chest to stop him. Derek, for his part, just stared at Stiles' hand. Stiles could practically feel the pain of rejection rolling off of him, so he had to speak up and set the other man straight, "I want to kiss you, I do, I just, well…don't exactly want my first kiss happening in front of my mother's gravestone, you know?" Derek's eyes snapped to his then, and he felt butterflies build in his stomach at the brilliant smile the other man was giving him. Neither of them said anything for a few moments more until Stiles shivered when a small gust of wind blew by.

"Are you cold?" Derek asked.

"A little, I should probably get home soon, though, to start dinner so it will be there when my dad gets home."

"Oh…will you let me walk you to your car?" Derek asked and Stiles felt himself blush again as he nodded his head. The older man helped him up from the ground and walked close to his side, their hands brushing against one another as they moved. When they reached Stiles' car they stood there, not saying anything, and when Derek opened his mouth to speak again Stiles knew what he was going to ask. "Can I take you on a date tomorrow?" Or maybe not.

"A date? You aren't going to ask me _the question_?" Stiles asked, referring the formal mating question that werewolves were supposed to ask their mates to begin forging the bond.

"No, not yet. I want us to get to know each other first, the bond makes things very intense very quickly when it's set into stone and I want to take my time with you."

"Then yes, Derek Hale, I'll go on a date with you," Stiles replied and he leaned forward, placing a quick kiss on the other man's cheek and getting a smile in reward before he got in his jeep and drove away. When he got home he went straight up to his room and lay down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, thinking about what had just transpired.

He was Derek's mate. He, Stiles Stilinski, was Derek Hale's mate. Even more shocking; Derek had hoped Stiles would be. He'd _wanted _Stiles. Nobody had ever wanted Stiles and yet Derek was saying that he did, even before he'd known Stiles was his mate. What baffled Stiles the most, though, was how…okay he was with the fact. Just two hours before he'd been dreading that same fate but now it felt different. His worries were still there but Derek had already inadvertently proven one of the beliefs of werewolves and their mates wrong.

Stiles had grown up being told that a werewolf must ask their mate the day they find them to bond with them. But now Derek was telling him different by asking him on a date and implying that the bond didn't need to be in place yet. Stiles didn't know now if everything he heard was true, he knew that some of it was from some very awkward conversations with Scott, but the rest might not have been. He figured it was the same as how fairytales themselves got twisted over time from the somewhat gruesome beginnings they had to what they were now, tales of hope and love. He ran a hand over his face, headed downstairs to start dinner and waited for his dad to get home.

"Hey kid, dinner smells great," his dad yelled in greeting when he entered the house, half an hour later.

"Thanks Dad, it should be done in a few minutes," he replied as his dad wandered into the room.

"How was your day? Did you do anything interesting?" his dad asked when they sat down to eat.

"Oh, um, it was good. Didn't really do much, just the same old Saturday routine," he answered, knowing that his dad would understand what he meant.

"Why do I get the feeling something else happened today?"

"Oh, well, I have a date tomorrow. I guess that's new."

"And this date is with whom?" Stiles ducked his head and pushed his broccoli around his plate before he glanced up at his dad and answered.

"Derek Hale," he watched as his father raised his eyebrows at him and held his breath as he waited for him to say something.

"Are you sure about this? Because son, I don't want you to get too invested and have him find his mate only to leave you behind."

"What? Dad, no! I am his mate," Stiles replied, indignant that his dad thought he'd date Derek without being the other man's mate.

"You are?"

"Yes. He was at the cemetery today and he, for lack of a better term, smelled me and came over. We talked and he asked me out on a date. Apparently, the werewolf mate lore that we have come to believe is wrong, because he didn't ask me the all-important question. He said he wanted to wait until we got to know each other because once the bond is put in place things get very intense."

"And you're okay with this? Being Derek's mate?"

"I didn't think I would be but…so far I am. I mean, maybe some of the other things that we've heard aren't true either and some of the reasons I've always been so resistant to the idea are moot points. I'm not saying I'm completely over-joyed or anything, I still have my issues, but I think…I think this will be good, Dad."

"Well, okay then. But I get to meet him tomorrow when he comes to pick you up," his dad said and Stiles groaned, leaning his head back against the top of his chair. It wasn't until he was up in his room doing homework that he realized Derek never said a time that he would be picking him up. And he didn't even have Derek's number to text and ask him. He worried his lip between his teeth and jumped a moment later when there was a knock on his door.

"Yeah?"

"Phone's for you," his dad said, handing him the house phone with a wink and Stiles had a pretty good feeling about who was on the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Hi Stiles," Derek answered on the other end.

"Hi Derek." His voice sounded nervous and Stiles pinched himself because what did he have to be nervous for?

"So, I sort of just realized I never asked what time you wanted me to pick you up tomorrow."

"Does five sound okay? I have to warn you, though; my dad says he wants to meet you, so he's probably going to interrogate you when you get here. So if you made reservations or something already somewhere, well, you might want to call and push them back a little bit."

"I think we should be fine, so I'll see you at five o'clock tomorrow?"

"Yeah, and that's PM right? Because I gotta say, Derek, I'm not exactly happy company at five in the morning."

"Guess we have that in common," Derek replied. Stiles laughed a little as he leaned back in his computer chair.

"So, um, did you tell your family? Or should I call it pack? I'm not completely sure and I don't want to offend you or anything because, like, well…Scott doesn't call his mom, Isaac, or I pack, really, but Erica does it sometimes. But I guess it's because she's been a werewolf since she was young and your dad only turned Scott like six months ago."

"I call them my family most of the time, but I told my parents that I found you and they were really happy. I haven't told the rest of them yet because, well, there's a lot of them, as you know, and I don't want to have them overwhelm you."

"Did your parents know what you told me? About you hoping I was your mate?"

"Yeah. My oldest sister Laura and Trevor knew too. They liked to tease me about it a lot when we were young. After what happened with Trevor, Laura stopped doing it," Stiles searched for something to say, he didn't want to bring up anything potentially painful with talk of Trevor.

"Is it nice having siblings? I always wanted a little brother or sister but my Mom had a hard pregnancy with me and they informed her after I was born that she wouldn't be able to sustain another one. They were looking into adoption right before she got sick though, I remember hearing them talking about it."

"I've always liked it. I mean, there were times I wished that I didn't, but I know that life would be worse without them," Derek answered. From there they talked for another hour and a half before Stiles stifled a yawn in his fist, which prompted the end of the conversation. After he brought the phone back downstairs he got ready for bed then put on the TV for background noise and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Stiles woke up and it took him a few moments to remember everything that had transpired the day before. When he did, he laid in bed for a while longer, thinking about his feelings towards being Derek's mate and the conversations that the two had had so far. Derek had a dry wit that Stiles appreciated and he seemed to like listening to Stiles babbling the night before on the phone. He was nervous about that night but excited at the same time; he wasn't completely sure what Derek would have planned but he figured it wouldn't be anything too out of the ordinary. Then again, he didn't know Derek all that well; they were six years apart in age after all. Stiles spent most of the day completing his homework and studying for his Chemistry test that was on Tuesday. He started getting ready around four thirty and anxiously scrolled through his tumblr dash until he heard the doorbell ring at five o'clock on the dot. He rushed downstairs before his dad could get the door and opened it to find Derek standing on the front porch with a single yellow daisy in his hand.

"Hi, this is for you," Derek said handing him the simple flower.

"Thank you. Come in for a few minutes. You can talk to my dad and I'll go put this in my room," Stiles said, offering his hand for Derek to take and flushing a little when Derek took the opportunity to intertwine their fingers. He walked into the living room where his dad was reading the paper. He cleared his throat a little bit and waited for his dad to look up. "Dad, you remember Derek, right?"

"I believe I do, yes. How are you, Derek?"

"I'm good sir, and you?"

"I'm doing fine."

"Okay, so while you two awkwardly talk to each other, I'm going to go put this in a vase with some water and bring it up to my room and grab my jacket," Stiles said, waving the daisy in the air before he squeezed Derek's hand once and left the room. He didn't really want to know what his dad was going to say to Derek, but he hoped it was nothing too horrible. Stiles grabbed the small vase that was one of his mother's favorites from out of the cupboard and filled it with water before placing the daisy in it. He brought it up to his room, set it on his nightstand and stood there for a second, stroking the petals. Daisies had been his mom's favorite flower and while it wasn't a whole bouquet of them, he liked that Derek kept it simple. To be truthful, he would've felt a bit silly if Derek had given him more. He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and walked downstairs, back into the living room where it seemed both men were still alive.

"Ready to go?" he asked and Derek nodded before he got up and joined Stiles.

"Have a nice night, Mr. Stilinski."

"You too, boys. Stiles, remember; home by ten."

"I know Dad, be safe tonight," he replied and with that he followed Derek out to the house and to where Derek's black Camaro sat in the driveway. "So where are we going?"

"Someplace special," Derek replied. Stiles wanted to ask more questions but he already knew that Derek was a man of few words and he'd find out in good time. He had no clue where Derek was taking them but they stopped near the edge of what he knew was the Hale property and got out of the car. He watched as Derek went around to the trunk and pulled out a warm looking blanket and a basket filled with what Stiles guessed was food.

"Did you make us dinner?" he asked and found it endearing when Derek blushed and nodded.

"I hope you don't mind walking for a little bit, the place I have in mind is about a quarter of a mile from here."

"I don't mind," Stiles said as Derek reached for his hand and they started walking. They made small talk as they did, Derek asking Stiles about his day and school, while Stiles asked Derek about UCLA. Fifteen minutes later they found themselves in a small clearing with a stream running through it and Derek stopped walking. It was so peaceful and quiet that it felt like a whole other world from the rest of Beacon Hills.

"It's so peaceful out here," he whispered in fear of breaking it.

"I know, it's my favorite spot in the woods."

"Thank you for bringing me here," Stiles said as he helped Derek set the blanket on the ground and take out the food.

"It's actually kind of a Hale family tradition to take our mate on a picnic for our first date in the woods."

"Really?"

"Yeah. When we were kids my dad took us down to this spot by the pond near Crescent Road and told us that was where he took our mom on their first date. He explained that when he was young like we were that his mom told him and my Uncle Peter to find a place in the woods. And that that place would be their place for them to run to and have their own time by themselves. That one day this would be the place that they would share with their mate. He told all of us to do the same."

"Do all families have this kind of tradition?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know, we've met a couple other families that have a communal spot in their own territories like this, but no one else we've spent a lot of time with have individual spots," Derek replied.

"Well I like that we have our own spot. It's special."

"Yeah, I like it too," Derek told him and Stiles smiled back at him before looking back down at his plate of food. He had so many things that he wanted to ask Derek about mates and the bond but he just didn't know how to ask them. Stiles didn't want Derek to think he wasn't happy to be his mate because underneath everything he really was. He could already feel how just _right_ it felt being around Derek and holding his hand, and if that's how he felt as a human he could only imagine what it was like for Derek.

"What was it like for you yesterday? When you…" Stiles trailed off because he didn't know how else to phrase the question other than _you smelled me_ but it sounded kind of awkward.

"Found you?" Derek supplied and Stiles nodded waiting for him to go on. "It was like...coming home when you've been gone for a long time. You know?"

"Not really," Stiles replied. He didn't want to make Derek feel bad but he didn't completely understand what he meant and he didn't want to lie about it.

"Okay…how about you close your eyes and think about what kind of things you smell when you think of being safe and happy," Stiles did as Derek said. He closed his eyes and thought of when he was a child growing up. He thought about warm summer days filled with lemonade and dew in the grass, the smell of warm nutmeg and cinnamon that seemed to always surround his mom, and he thought about the faint smell of daisies as well.

"That makes a lot more sense," Stiles said, before opening his eyes to find Derek a little closer than before. He felt the electricity moving around them in the air and flicked his eyes down to Derek's lips before he leaned in tentatively. Their lips met in the middle, softly pressing together but Stiles felt his whole body fill with butterflies and his limbs grew tingly. After a couple more moments Derek pulled away first and Stiles opened his eyes to find a smile on the werewolf's face that probably matched the one he felt on his own.

"I'm glad you stopped me yesterday at your mother's grave, because that was the perfect first kiss," Derek whispered. It made Stiles blush, his cheeks growing warm.

"I've never done that before. I'm glad I didn't ruin it or anything."

"Well, I don't really have much to compare it to, but even if I did I doubt anyone else would've come close," the werewolf replied as Stiles felt his eyes widen at the implication.

"You mean you never—?" he asked, trailing off. He had heard that many werewolves who found their mates later in life would have sexual relationships to gain experience.

"No, we were raised to believe that sex was something to be shared with just our mate. I've only ever kissed a handful of people because of spin the bottle games during middle school and a few…bolder girls and guys that thought a kiss would make them more enticing, so to speak."

"People actually kissed you thinking that that would prove they were your mate?"

"It only happened three or four times. Not everyone really understands that it's our mate's smell that draws us in, because of all those fairytales that end with a kiss."

"But the kissing is pretty good, too, isn't it?" Stiles joked, making Derek chuckle as the other man kissed him quickly.

"Most definitely."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and Stiles was surprised to find that it didn't feel awkward at all. He smiled when Derek wrapped his arm around his shoulder and Stiles leaned more into the other man's side. It was nice sitting there, surrounded by the faint sounds of the woods, the warmth of Derek at his side. He realized suddenly that he truly felt safe for the first time since his mother had died. Stiles knew it was probably part of the bond working, even though the questions hadn't been asked, but he felt that even if Derek were human or werewolves didn't have predestined mates it would feel the same way. There were still myths and facts about werewolves and their mates that Stiles wanted solidified, but for now he was content. As the first stars started to peek out in the sky, Stiles really started to understand why everyone thought that you were lucky to be a werewolf's mate; he felt pretty damn lucky himself.


End file.
